Ages of Innocence: Book 6 Completion
by Corianin
Summary: What a long, strange trip it's been." -The Grateful Dead, from their song Truckin', written in 1970
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I do apologize for not updating this, but since Edward and Bella have finally found each other, I refuse to try and just slap something together. They've been through so much to get to where they are, that they deserve the best I can give them. :)

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She looked wonderful. He didn't know the last time she'd seemed so...sure, so content. The haunted look in her eyes was gone, the pain he was so used to seeing just under the surface replaced by quiet curiosity and patience. After they'd finally, albeit reluctantly, stepped out of one anothers' embrace so the rest of the family could welcome her back, Edward moved back and just watched her. He was so amazed at the changes he saw, though they'd only been apart nine days. ~I wonder what changes she sees in me, if any.~

"Edward?" He turned to see Carlisle standing nearby. "I'd like to talk to you sometime this night, after Bella goes to sleep. I'm not going to pull you away from her on your first day together in over a week." He smiled.

"All right," Edward agreed easily, even though he could tell something was weighing heavily on the elder vampire's mind. He had thought earlier in the week that he would wait for a few days before asking Carlisle to view their time in Greece, but after seeing his father and Bella together, the tenderness there, the connection, he made up his mind. He wouldn't ask at all. Whatever happened, whatever was said or done...it belonged to the two of them. As much as Edward loved them both, he thought it was the least he could do to show his acceptance.

"So, Bella, do you want your surprise now or later?" Alice was all but bouncing in place, and Bella just looked happily overwhelmed.

"You guys didn't buy me anything, did you?" Her mock severity didn't phase the family in the least. She glanced back at him, and he walked over to fold her into his arms.

"Not 'buy,' precisely..." he began.

"More like 'assembled,'" Jasper finished with a grin. Bella was obviously trying to get some clue from their expressions, giving up when she realized it was a lost cause. She sighed, snuggling into Edward's embrace and trying to glare severely at the ring of people smiling at her.

"I swear...you guys all need to-"

"_Bellissima_," cut in Carlisle's soft voice. Edward felt the tremor that moved through her when he spoke, and wondered what exactly it was Carlisle wanted to discuss with him tonight. "You are one of us now. A part of this family. And we love you. So stop trying to convince us not to give you gifts." He paused, smiling at her with genuine affection, before his gaze moved rather pointedly to her chest. "Don't enlist in a battle that you've already surrendered." A flash of possessiveness sprang to life until Edward noticed the slight bump underneath the neck of her shirt and realized she was wearing the pendant that Carlisle had commissioned. A brief glance at the other's eyes confirmed this guess. Bella, however, had missed the entire wordless exchange between the two and smiled sheepishly at the Cullen patriarch.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle," she said softly, and Edward didn't need Jasper's talent to feel her emotions surge. "I just don't think I'm as special-" He couldn't think of a better way to stop that line of thought, so he did what he'd wanted to do for days. A quick twist of his grasp had her spun around facing him, and he smiled at the shock in her expression as his lips met hers. She melted against him as she always had, that warm softness curving tightly into his body, but unlike every other time, he didn't panic. Didn't try to fight himself, or her, or the emotions he felt. Instead, he pulled her against him fully, his hands roaming down to the small of her back and lower, holding her in place as he explored her mouth with his own. Her surprised moan and ecstatic response, the way she pressed herself even closer and whimpered softly into his lips banished the last of the doubts Edward had entertained about her return, leaving behind only need, joy, and a love so full it was painful. Neither noticed the rest of the Cullens as they smiled happily at one another. They didn't notice Jasper's and Emmett's high-five, didn't see the contentment and adoration on Carlisle's face as he rejoined his wife, who welcomed him into her arms with a smiling sigh and a kiss. And they didn't notice that at some point, everyone else went inside, leaving Edward and Bella standing in the morning sunlight.

The world seemed right at last.

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As curious as Bella was, she was more happy to be back with her family. After she and Edward had pried themselves away from one another long enough to rejoin the rest of them inside, she banished all thoughts of what their gift could be and just immersed herself in the atmosphere. They spent hours talking, Bella rhapsodizing over the food and the sights with such longing that Emmett had to joke with her.

"Hey, Bells, you sure you wanted to come back? Sounds almost like you're ready to cheat on Ed with the Ionian Islands." She just chuckled.

"No, I am very very glad to be back. But I would like to visit again. It was so beautiful there..." She trailed off, sharing a glance with Carlisle that had everyone grinning behind their backs.

"So what did you think of Caralla?" asked Alice. Esme chimed in.

"Yes, I was wondering that as well." Bella laughed.

"Oh, she's something else, all right. Blazingly gorgeous - and that gift of hers... you know, you guys could have warned me."

"Oh, where's the fun in that?" drawled Jasper, his arms around Alice's shoulders as he sat behind her on the couch. "You can't truly appreciate the power that is Caralla if you're forewarned." The group as a whole laughed, and Bella knew she'd never been so content in her life.

"So...gift? We all want to see what you think." Rosalie was the one that brought it up this time, and Bella thought back over all of the changes their relationship had taken. It was a hard road, but she loved the blonde dearly now, and the feeling was mutual. Bella smiled.

"Okay. Gift. But if it's too expensive you're taking it back." Everyone but her and Carlisle began to laugh hysterically.

"'Taking it back.' Good one, Bells," said Emmett. She glanced over at Carlisle, who shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea. I was in b-Greece with you all week." Bella blushed, and she could tell that everyone had caught the almost-slip. Luckily for her flaming face, though, no one mentioned it. Alice jumped up, grabbing Bella's hands and pulling her off of Edward's lap...causing a bit of a scene as he had to adjust himself quickly.

"Wow, Bella, I don't blame you for not wanting to stand up. I'd have stayed there, too!" She thought she couldn't get any more red. She was wrong. Especially when Rose chimed in.

"Mmm-hmm. I've called first dibs when he's done with you, though." Esme laughed, Jasper and Emmett snickering. By this point Edward had gotten himself together somewhat, and broke in.

"Okay, are we giving Bella her gift or are we discussing who gets to have their way with me after I'm finished making love with my beautiful girlfriend?"

"Hmm...we get to choose?" said Rose thoughtfully.

"Rose!" he snapped, embarrassed. Bella chimed in.

"It's okay, Edward. She can have you when I'm done." She shot a wicked glance at Rosalie. "If there's anything left, that is."

"Woo-hoo, Bells! Someone has sure been thinking this through!" Emmett barked.

"Well, do you blame me? I've been waiting for this for years now!"

"Enough! Can we please show you your gift now?" Edward was all but begging in his embarrassment, and Bella smiled at how hot it sounded. ~I wonder how else I can make him beg before I'm done with him..?~

"Lead on, my stubbornly gorgeous man."


	2. Chapter 2

Until now, he'd been the only one to see this particular sight, but when the first happiness tear crept down her porcelain skin and her eyes glowed like that, Carlisle didn't care if he was first, last, or somewhere in between. Bella was truly beautiful, and she didn't realize it. He managed somehow to pry his eyes away from her and look at his wonderful family. Esme, her hand on his arm, was smiling at him like she knew what he was thinking.

"So I guess the week went well," she whispered, low enough that only he could hear it. He turned to her, catching her lips in a kiss that was sweet and hot and felt like perfection.

"Have I mentioned how amazing you are, or how much I love you?" he asked, kissing her again.

"Well, you've been gone a week, and even though I've been able to...keep myself amused...we've got a lot of catching up to do. You can tell me then." Her grin crept into his heart and his libido simultaneously, and he held her close. It was good to be home.

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"I...you..." She was smiling through the soundless tears creeping down her cheeks, not noticing them at all, as she took in the room beyond the door they'd just opened. It was gorgeous - rich mahogany bookshelves around the walls, a thickly plush persian carpet stretched tastefully over the darkwood flooring. There was an enormous cabinet on one side. The walls were bare save for a few wall sconces that held realistic-looking torches. And seeing as how the ceiling was at least twenty feet above her head, that was a lot of wall space. A desk sat in the middle of the room, delicate yet sturdy, looking old enough to be an antique. At one side of the room was a six foot high, French paned window, a staircase beside it leading up to a platform that wound around two sides of the room. She looked back at her family, unable to speak. Alice gave her a little push.

"Go explore." Stunned, Bella did just that, walking slowly around the room, her fingers trailing gently over the soft wood of the desk, picking up a masterfully carved Bengal tiger that rested just beside the desk lamp, tracing the exquisite markings and marvelling at the beauty. Placing the tiger back in its place, she began looking at the rest of the room. She looked over the dozens upon dozens of books of all type and subject. The torches were actually real, as she found on closer inspection. The cabinet, when opened, proved to be an entertainment center with a flat-panel television and various other items ranging from a VCR to a DVD player, to her very own Wii. The window looked out onto the back of their property, the forty yards or so of lawn that was neatly manicured before blending gently into the surrounding woods. Slowly she climbed the stairs, her eyes widening as she caught a glimpse of the dresser and vanity, the enormous wardrobe that was, upon inspection, full of clothes that were both beautiful and functional...and the bed. She stopped short, unable to do so much as blink.

It was made of the same dark wood as the rest of the furnishings, with delicately decorative headboard and footboard, the four posts reaching overhead to hold a sheer canopy of gauzy cream fabric. As she looked closer she could see the perfectly carved flowers and vines twining the entire length of each post and extending along the top of the headboard. She touched the comforter gently, her breath catching at how soft the cream-colored quilt felt beneath her fingertips.

"This was all Edward's idea. And he made the bed himself." She looked in awe at Alice's smiling face, only then realizing everyone had followed her upstairs. Her eyes shifted to her beloved as he looked somewhat sheepishly back at her. In that moment, she understood exactly what he was saying, what he was offering, and she felt her heart swell with love for him until she thought it would burst.

"I didn't do all of it. Everyone helped." It was obvious he wasn't used to the look in her eyes, but she didn't care as she walked over to him. Standing about a foot from him, from the infuriating, gorgeous, absolutely incomparable vampire that had unintentionally rocked her world, she reached her hand out to touch him, running her fingertip over his cheek. His eyes fluttered closed, then back open. "Do you like it?" he asked, his voice tentative, and she realized he thought she meant to turn it down, to turn him down. Very carefully she stepped away from him, ignoring the look of hurt on his features. She would take care of that in a moment.

She walked over to Esme first, throwing her arms her and hugging her tightly, feeling the embrace returned.

"Thank you for this - I know it wasn't the guys that did the decorating." Esme laughed lightly.

"Of course not. You'd have ended up with Lara Croft on one wall and Hello Kitty on the other, most likely." Bella laughed with her at that. "However, we left the wall space bare, for you to add whatever you'd like, to make the room your own." Bella, ridiculously touched, hugged her again before turning to Rosalie.

"Thank you for the books - it's an amazing collection. I can't wait to get started!" Rose looked both pleased and confused.

"How did you know I picked out the books?"

"Because you, more than anyone, used to catch me in Carlisle's office poring over the books on his shelf while Edward was gone." Rosalie grinned, her beautiful face glowing with happiness.

"Well, there's plenty there for you to sink your teeth into." She chuckled, as did Bella before turning to her husband.

"Emmett - I know I have you to thank for the electronics and the Wii - and the very obviously reinforced safety straps on the Wii-motes." He chuckled, pulling her into his arms for a hug.

"Can't have you breaking anything in here - we all put too much effort into it!" She nodded agreement and turned to Alice.

"What can I say but thank you for the clothing...and for not making it all look like something out of a magazine?" Alice laughed, throwing her arms around Bella.

"Well, it still all looks that way. But at least it could be a magazine with Chip & Pepper advertisements." She smiled, her voice more serious. "I know you're annoyed by me playing dress-up with you, so I thought I'd give you some clothes you could escape into when you just want to feel like a typical girl for the moment - though you really are anything but." Bella grinned before turning to Jasper. His eyes were wide as she walked towards him, and her smile was tender.

"You know, the look in your eyes right now reminds me of our first night...a bit shy and stunned and absolutely terrified. I'm not sure who was more scared - me or you."

"Me. Definitely me," he muttered.

"You were so warm, so loving...it's you I see in the carvings. The tiger on the desk, the scrollwork on the bookshelves...the vines on the bed. Thank you, Jasper, for everything." She hugged him then, her first, her friend, and he let her feel what he was feeling as well while they embraced.

"We all love you, Bella darlin'. We just wanted to show it somehow. And Edward thought you would like a room to call your own, a place to escape to if you need a moment away from everything." Eventually she let go of Jasper, then faced the entire group. She could feel Edward staring at her, hurt and neglected, and she smiled knowing he couldn't see it. Everyone else did, however, so she met no resistance with her next words.

"I'd like to talk to Edward for a moment now, if that's okay. We'll be out to join you all whenever I'm done speaking my piece." Begging them with her eyes to not give away her true mood, she was thankful when, one by one, they nodded and began to head down the steps. Carlisle was last, stopping to kiss her softly.

"Welcome home, Bella." His lips moved from hers to her neck, and she gently ran her fingers through his hair. He knew what she was playing, and was willing to go along with it. "Don't make him wait too long, love," he whispered too low for Edward to hear before turning and - in a flamboyant motion completely unlike his usual self - jumped over the edge of the platform to land, panther-graceful and snowfall-silent on the floor below. As soon as he'd shut the door behind him, she turned to face Edward.

"Edward...we need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

~This is it. This is where she tells me she doesn't want me anymore.~ His thoughts were spinning and none of them were good. He decided to speak up first, try and postpone the inevitable.

"Bella...I know I haven't...I mean..." She was stalking towards him, and he instinctively backed up. Something in her eyes unnerved him, and even though he could break her in half without blinking, he found himself being driven backward.

"Edward." Her voice was like ice cubes made of flame and it made him shiver. His legs hit the edge of the bed and he sat down involuntarily.

"Bella...I-"

"Shut up." She was standing right in front of him, eyes flashing, looking spectacular and smelling amazing and he was scared to even speak because he didn't know if he would drive her away.

"All this time I've waited for you. Wanted you. Needed you. Damn it, loved you. And you pushed me away. Time and time again.

"Do you know how that made me feel? The thought that maybe you were just trying to be nice by saying you cared? That maybe I just wasn't good enough for you? Not pretty enough, not smart enough, not sexy enough to tempt you into feeling the way I did? I'm not saying it was a rational thought on my part, but what the hell was I supposed to think? We'd be kissing and your hands would be on me and then suddenly you're across the room and I'm left burning like you dipped me in alcohol and lit a match.

"Well, these past few months have made me see a few things. I've seen myself through other peoples' eyes. I've gotten to experience the kinds of things most girls can only dream of. I've learned who I am, what I'm capable of. I've realized I can take a lot more than anyone thinks I can, and that I love surprising them with that. And I only have one thing to say, you frustrating, mercurial, MAN of a vampire..." He froze. This was where the hammer fell. His unbeating heart fell to his feet as he stared into the eyes of the only woman he'd ever loved and prepared to say goodbye.

"I love you, Edward Cullen. Even if I live and die a human, I will always love you. And if you still want me, I'm yours."

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~Oh my god, the look in his eyes...is it wrong to be turned on by him backing up?~ Bella knew what she had planned, had known since the ride back to the house from the airport. She hadn't realized how good it would feel to voice all of her old doubts, to wash them away with the cleansing waters of her own certainty and new-found belief in herself. She saw his face as she spoke, his beautiful golden eyes filling with love and sorrow and resignation. It tore her heart out, but she knew she had to do this, to break the bubble she'd always held over her thoughts of them together. She couldn't live in a dreamworld anymore. Things would not always be perfect. They would fight, they would hurt each other, but if she'd learned anything at all in these past few months, it wasn't about her - it was that love really did conquer all. And she meant every word she said. Once she was finished, she simply stood there as he stared in dumbfounded silence at her. ~Please, god, let me not have broken us forever!~

"Bella..." He spoke softly, with a complete lack of certainty that she felt as well. "You still want me?" She blinked, then laughed.

"You silly little - of COURSE I want you!" She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but held back. She needed to be certain. "Only if you want me, though. I won't try to convince you." There was a brief second where neither her heart or her lungs wanted to function, and then his arms were wrapped around her and she was pressed back onto her beautiful new bed - the bed he'd made for her - and she could have cried with how right it felt. His lips met hers and they danced together until she was gasping for air and her entire body was pulsing with need. She broke it off and looked up at him.

"I meant it when I said I wouldn't push you. We'll take this only as far as you feel safe taking it." He met her gaze for a long moment, and then he smiled at her, and her libido slammed into overdrive at the promise in those gorgeous eyes.

"Oh, Bella...you're not the only one that's learned things these past few months." He bent down and nipped at her neck and she bucked against him. ~Oh GOD - I'm going to come and we haven't even been kissing for five minutes!~ His hands slid down and shifted her ankles over his hips, nestling himself between her legs as he proceeded to nip and suck at her neck. Working from below her ear across to her lips, then over to the other side; even though he was only touching her neck, her entire body felt like it was going to spontaneously combust. And then he gently...oh-so-gently...closed his teeth over her jugular through the material of her shirt and she shattered, crying out his name and holding him against her as she shuddered. Finally she stopped, dragging his mouth back to her own for a moment before he pulled away and looked at her lust-fogged eyes.

"So while you've been having undoubtedly superb and frequent sex with Carlisle, guess what I've been doing?" She smiled, the thoughts running through her head only serving to make her more and more desperate for him.

"Why don't you tell me?" she asked, her voice husky.

"I've been not having sex." She blinked. ~Did I hear that right?~

"You've been...not...having sex?" He nodded.

"You want to know why?"

"Yes..."

"Because the first time I go that far, I want it to be with you." Her heart melted and she drew him against her.

"Edward..."

"Mmm?"

"Please, PLEASE tell me you plan on that happening someday soon." He glanced at her, grinning.

"Well, I was kind of hoping it would be tonight. Unless you're not up for it-" His cheeky comment was cut off as his beloved Bella slammed her lips against his, startling him enough that she was able to flip him onto his back. She drug his hands to her breasts, sliding her tongue along his lower lip before sucking it hard. He moaned.

"I leave it up to you," she gasped, feeling his fingers close over her throbbing nipples. "You can run the show or I can."

"I think..." he began, pausing a moment to lift her shirt up slightly and press a kiss above her belly button. "...that you'd better take the lead tonight. At least, this time." It was her turn to moan.

"It's not going to be slow, Edward. I've wanted you for too long."

"I don't want it slow...I've been waiting, too. Slow we can do later." A frenzy of movement later and she had him totally nude, laying underneath her as she feasted her eyes on his inhumanly beautiful body. With one hand she scraped her fingernails across his nipples, and with the other she rubbed his thigh, not quite getting close enough to touch his straining cock.

"I think...this isn't fair."

"Hmm?" she asked, enjoying the tease as much as he was.

"You're wearing too many clothes." A totally wicked idea crossed her mind and she stood, stepping a few paces away.

"So you'd like me to be more naked, is that right?" He smiled, knowing she had something on her mind from the light in her eyes and the smile on her kiss-swollen lips.

"Yeah, I'd say that's about right."

"So if I were to, say, take off my skirt..." She matched action to words, slowly sliding the skirt down over her legs, standing back up even slower so she could see his expression when she did. It didn't disappoint.

"God, Bella..." He sounded almost like he was in pain. She decided to make it worse, walking a few steps closer clad only in her garter, stockings, heels, and shirt. He began to beg, the sound just as wonderful as she thought it would be. "Please...take off the shirt?"

"Your wish, my command," she murmured, toying with her breasts through the material for a moment before lifting it inch by inch over her head. Whenever it was off and laying...somewhere, she didn't know where...and she could see him again, she saw what she'd always loved - his eyes, black as midnight with desire. Without prompting she slunk up to him, climbing up on top of him and pressing a kiss to his chest. He seemed frozen with indecision, so she made up his mind for him, coaxing his lips back to her neck while she brushed her nipples against his chest. What followed was almost too much for her to process...his teeth closing over her jugular, not quite hard enough to break the skin but enough that she knew she'd be wearing another mark of ownership in the morning...the feel of his hips between her knees as she adjusted herself over the pulsing cock she'd been dreaming of for so long...his hands tugging just hard enough on her nipples...

"Edward..." she whispered. "Are you sure?" She had to be certain. This was the farthest they'd ever gone, and she didn't want to wake up in the morning to find him filled with regret. He drug his mouth from her neck and back to her lips, kissing her deeply.

"I love you, Bella Swan." That was all the answer she needed. After so much hurt, so many tears, so much dreaming...she slid down onto him slowly, evenly, until she was sitting on him, his entire length buried deep within, where he belonged. She didn't know she was crying until he shifted, bringing her down to kiss the tears away. The movement brought her back to the wonderful present and she lifted her hips, dragging a moan from him as she did so.

"God...Bella...this is..." She smiled, knowing well the intense feeling that stole words and reason.

"Touch me, Edward," she whispered. "Touch me as we make love. I've needed this for so, so long."

It was different, somehow. He wasn't as practiced, as confident as the others, but this joining, the feeling of Edward inside her...nothing could ever compare with it. Not the best encounters with Carlisle in Greece, not the wild night in the kitchen with Emmett and Rosalie, not even that first night with Jasper and Alice. Nothing came even close. She set a slow, hard pace, grinding against him, taking him deep with every thrust. She didn't realize how close she was until she came hard, screeching and arching her back as she kept moving atop him. Riding the shockwaves, she kept sliding up and down on his hardened prick, feeling herself building again.

"Bella...I'm going to...should I..?" She shook her head, understanding what he was asking and choosing to explain it all later.

"I want you, Edward...all of you...that's it, buck your hips...god, yes...come with me baby...I need to feel you come inside me...do it..." That's all it took. With a roar he clamped his hands onto her hips and dragged her hard against him, holding her still as her climax triggered his, her hot depths willingly taking everything he poured into her.

"Bella...I love you so much," he whispered as she collapsed on top of him, her tight muscles still clenching rhythmically around him.

"I love you, Edward. You mean more to me than anything else."

That night, having blazed and fought through pain and sorrow, hurt and despair, the two lost souls that had found one another in the most unlikely of times and places finally became one. Forever and always.

_-fin._

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Author's note: So I promised a happy ending. :)Like most stories - especially most of mine (as anyone who's read Divided We Stand will know) the ending isn't ever really the ending. If you're anything like me, you can easily imagine future storylines, more adventures. So I pose you all, constant readers, this idea. I'm willing to write more stories, and as it's been a while since I've done anything like this and I want to stretch my mental muscles again...I'm taking suggestions. Anything you can think of that you might want to see, anything at all, shoot me a line and I'll see what I can put together. Word prompts, picture inspirations, pairings, full plot ideas; I welcome any and all suggestions. I'm having too much fun with these characters to return them just yet. Also, I'm working on compiling a playlist for each Book. I can't seem to write without music of some kind, and each chapter seemed to have one song that worked with it more than any other. Once I get it set, I'll be posting the list and lyrics to each song on my actual official website, and I think there's a link to that on my profile page. Will keep y'all posted.

I wanted to thank you all for coming with me through this...exceedingly...long journey. The summary of this Book, I think, said it all. "What a long, strange trip it's been." Who'd have thought that my original idea for four 3-chapter Books would have taken on such a life of its own? And I'm so happy to have been able to share it with all of you. On behalf of myself, and my Evil Plot Bunnies, thank you, thank you, and thank you.

And now...it's time to go eat something. All that happy makes me hungry. ;-D

-Corianin


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